Michael Wall

Vice President of Research and Public Programs

Michael Wall, Ph.D., joined the San Diego Natural History Museum as Curator of Entomology in January 2006 and was subsequently named Director of the Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias. He also currently serves as Vice President of Research and Public Programs.

Dr. Wall is passionate about collections-based research and regional exploration. In 2008, Dr. Wall coordinated the Museum’s first-ever BioBlitz in which 1035 species were discovered in Balboa Park over a 24-hour period. He is currently working to develop online resources that will increase public accessibility to the Museum’s rich biological collections.

Dr. Wall’s interest in natural history began with plants. While working on both a B.S. and M.S. in botany at Auburn University, he became interested in the ecological relationships between plants and insects. After completing his Ph.D. in entomology at University of Connecticut in 2004, Dr. Wall received a postdoctoral fellowship to join a global biodiversity inventory (organized by the American Museum of Natural History and the Australian Museum). He is an award-winning teacher and Fulbright Fellow. When not at the Museum, you can find Dr. Wall hiking, running, and catching bugs with his wife, Allison, and two young children, Sydney and Connor.